The final plenary session before the start of the summer holidays is set to take place on July 18, with committee work continuing until the 25th of that month.
A preparatory debate for the European Council meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon during today’s conference of leaders. This debate will feature Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.
Francisco Figueira, the spokesperson for the conference of leaders and a deputy from the Social Democratic Party, stated that this preparatory debate is happening this week due to Luís Montenegro’s full external agenda next week, specifically a NATO summit of heads of state and government on June 24 and 25 in The Hague.
Before the preparatory debate for the European Council, the plenary session on Wednesday morning will conclude the Government Program debate, including voting on a motion of rejection submitted by PCP against the program.
A debate concerning the Internal Security Annual Report (RASI) is scheduled for June 25.
Mariana Mortágua, coordinator of the Left Bloc, noted that the RASI 2024 was not debated in parliament during the previous term and recalled that in April the party had questioned the Government about the removal of a chapter on extremist organizations from the final version of this report.
“Since the RASI was presented and this chapter was removed from the final version, we have witnessed a series of attacks, organized acts being prepared by terrorist groups, by neo-fascist groups, by far-right groups. It is probably one of the biggest threats to internal security today,” she argued.
On the following day, June 26, a proposal from Livre to establish a parliamentary inquiry commission on the blackout that affected Portugal will be discussed.
In statements to journalists, Isabel Mendes Lopes, the parliamentary leader of Livre, emphasized the importance of “understanding what happened on the day of the blackout, what went wrong, the response of various public entities, and how coordination was handled.”
“We must ensure that in future extreme events, whether blackouts or other naturally occurring events, the country will be prepared, with no doubts and no lack of support for those who need it most. This is a debate that should have taken place immediately after the blackout, at the beginning of May, but it did not because the Government claimed it was in a caretaker position,” noted Isabel Mendes Lopes.
Also on June 26, in relation to the parliamentary agenda for June, there will be a debate prompted by a citizens’ initiative aiming for the Assembly of the Republic to discuss the operating hours of shopping centers.
